The Doppelgänger Incident
by oso Roma
Summary: A young German Confederation goes missing. It is up to the World's most awesome older brother to come to the rescue.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters. Enjoy!**

The Doppelgänger Incident

"Stupid Prussia," a young German Confederation muttered to himself as he walked down the streets of a city. He appeared to be around the age of twelve. It was the mid-1800's. The German Confederation had stormed out of Prussia's house after an argument between them. They did not normally have fights, but Prussia wanted him to do something that he did not want to. Walking helped him vent off his anger at Prussia. After about two hours, the German Confederation decided to rest on a bench. He watched the carriages go by by him as another hour passed. The German Confederation noticed how the sun was started to set. He sighed to himself, getting ready to make another two hour walk to get home before dark. Just as he was about to get up, the German Confederation saw this woman from the other side of the street stare at him wide eyed in relief.

"Ludwig?" She said reaching out for him.

The German Confederation looked around to see if there was anyone behind him. There was no one. "Are you talking to me?"

"Ludwig!" The woman cried as she ran across the street towards the German Confederation. Judging by her long blond hair with some silver streaks in it and a couple of wrinkles on her face, she was about forty years old and appeared as though she had not slept in days. As soon as she was on the other side, the woman hugged the boy. "I missed you so much. Where were you?"

The German Confederation blushed as he was not use to this type of affection. He was confused to why she was embracing him and crying. He gently shoved her away. "I'm sorry ma'am. I don't know you. I am not Ludwig." The German Confederation took a few steps back. The woman in front of him was crying even harder and began to move forward trying to grab the German Confederation. In response, the German Confederation ran away from this crazy lady.

"Guards!" The woman shouted and she pointed to the boy.

The German Confederation heard her yell, which only made him run faster from his pursuers. He ran though the stone sidewalks carefully avoiding the bystanders around him. The German Confederation was heading uphill when he noticed the other street though the alleys between the buildings was parallel to the one he was running along was ten feet lower than where he was. A man in a black and red uniform appeared out of nowhere in front of the German Confederation. This startled the boy and he turned around to see three more men in the same uniform heading his way. The only chance of escape for him was the stone steps between the buildings that lead to the lower level street. He made a break for it. What he did not expect was for the top of the steps to be wet. The German Confederation slipped and tumbled down the rest of the steps. His body rolled off the sidewalk and into the street. A speeding carriage tried to stop, but the horse was not given enough time to halt and ran over the boy stepping on his head with a powerful impact.

X

Prussia was writing in his diary as it was getting dark outside. He knew that his brother was responsible enough to come home around this time even if they did have a fight. That is why he did not follow the kid after their argument.

After an hour passed by, Prussia thought that the German Confederation was being stubborn and was trying to get him to admit that he was wrong. Another three hours came and went; Prussia was starting to get worried. He decided to check the German Confederation's bed room in case he snuck in. Prussia held the candle lit lantern and looked all over the room for the boy. The laundry pile that he left for his brother to put away after the argument was still on the floor. Prussia knew that the German Confederation had not been in his room, since his OCD compelled him to hang up his clothes instantly.

A loud knock at the door, startled Prussia almost dropping the lantern. Relieved, Prussia thought that it was his brother at the door. However, he remembered that his brother had a key so then why would he be knocking. _He probably lost the key, spent hours trying to find it, und finally gave up_, Prussia thought to himself. Another knock snapped Prussia out of his thought. He made his way downstairs to answer the door.

"So you finally decided to…" Prussia trailed off. Austria, the last nation he expected to be at his door was facing him. "What are you doing here?"

"You fool! I came to check up on the German Confederation. I have to do this every week now, since he insists on living with you." Austria had authority over the German Confederation. "Are you not going to let me in?"

Prussia despised Austria and hated the fact that he had to keep showing up. He knew Austria would stay until he talked to his brother. "He is not here." Prussia muttered in a low voice.

"Well, then where is he?" Austria was trying to keep a relaxed composure.

Prussia gritted his teeth together, "I don't know."

"How could you lose a confederation?" Austria barked.

"I did not lose him! We were fighting earlier and he ran out!" Prussia clenched his fists. He did not mean to tell Austria the details of what happened earlier.

"Why are you not out there looking for him? What if another country claims him! This is why he should be staying at my house and not yours!" Austria yelled. "I swear when I find him, I will take him back home with me and you will not be allowed to see him!" Austria left Prussia at the door to search for the German Confederation.

Prussia walked outside, slammed the door, and followed Austria. "Stupid aristocrat! I am not going to let you get your hands on West!"

XX

"Doctor, he has not woken up is he going to live?" The woman asked the medic. She was kneeling down next to the blond boy on the bed. Her husband was standing right next to her.

"His body will run out of nutrition soon in his comatose state. I would say he has…" The Doctor stopped talking, because the boy opened his blue eye, sat up, and began to speak.

"I can't remember anything. What happened?" He questioned. A medical gauze was wrapped around the left side of his head.

"My baby." The woman cried and hugged the boy.

"You took a nasty fall, son. You were run over by a horse. You have been unconscious for a whole week." The woman's husband said. He was tall and also had long blond hair like his wife. The man gave the boy a small wooden box.

"What is this?" The boy opened the box and found a single blue marble inside. It had a black dot in the center and resembled an eye.

"Don't be scared," the Doctor came over to him with scissors in his hand. "We tried everything, but I am afraid we could not save your left eye. You will get use to putting the glass eye in." He shook the woman's shoulder. "Now if you will excuse me. It won't take too long." The woman followed the doctor's orders and let go of the boy. She held onto her husband as the Doctor began to remove the medical gauze. After the first cut, the Doctor unraveled it until he saw the boy's face. He gasped in shock and stumble backwards. The woman and her husband were also startled.

"Is it that bad?" The boy asked.

"Thank God, it's a miracle." The woman cried and rush back to embrace the boy. His face was not disfigured or scarred and his left eye was there functioning properly.

Not able to comprehend to why this stranger was worried about him. The boy said, "Who are you?"

"It's me, Mutti." The woman paled, "He does not remember me. No wait, he did not remember me right before the accident."

"You said he was missing a few days, before you found him again. These cases are rare," The Doctor said, "but I believe he has amnesia."

"Will he ever get his memory back?" The husband asked.

"In some cases they do. It will take some time. In the meanwhile, you should try to surround him with familiar things and treat him how you would under normal circumstances." The Doctor left the room.

"I am your Vati. Do you remember your name?" The husband asked. The boy shook his head to say no.

"You're Ludwig." The woman said.

"I'm Ludwig." The boy repeated.

XXX

Prussia paced himself to scan every face that went by him. It has been nearly a month since the German Confederation was last seen; since they argued. Prussia was searching by himself now; he left Austria after five minutes of their search on the first night that his brother was missing. Prussia could not stand hearing Austria complain about how irresponsible he was. So now they were both looking for the German Confederation in different areas. He liked being alone and it was for the best that he did split up from Austria so that they could cover more ground.

The actual German Confederation government, land, and people did not appear to have any sudden foreign influences, so the chances of another country taking him were slim. Prussia knew this and decided to search places in the German Confederation.

"Why didn't he come back?" Prussia talked to himself. "It was not that bad of an argument. He could easily get over it with me being right." Prussia found himself at the busy flee market section of the city. He was amused by some little kids running around. They reminded of him of when his brother was smaller.

Not paying attention to what was in front of him, Prussia tripped over a black cat. He scowled as the animal hissed at him. Cats were one of his least favorite animals. Cats eat birds and they would look at Gilbird with hunger in their eyes. "Go away, you stupid cat." Prussia shoved the cat away. As he got up, Prussia saw the German Confederation sitting on the edge of a fountain in the middle of the flea market.

"West!" Prussia called. The noise from all of the people at the flea market drowned out his voice. Prussia shoved a bunch of people to the side to make a path to the fountain. "Where did you go?" Prussia looked all around the fountain trying to find the boy. Two men in black and red uniforms caught his attention. In front of them was the German Confederation. He had his back turn towards him and was leaving the flea market. Prussia ran towards his brother and grabbed the shoulder of one of the men in the black and red uniforms to move him aside. Another man in the same uniform grabbed the albino from behind while the other two rushed the German Confederation away before he could take notice to what was going on.

Prussia pinned down his assailant. "Ha. You actually thought that you could beat up the awesome me." The attacker smiled back at Prussia. "What are you so happy about?" A large dark shadow loomed over Prussia. He turned his head slowly to see the biggest bald man with muscles that could barely fit into his uniform. "Uh…" Prussia was thinking of excuses to not get himself beat up. "This isn't what it looks like. I just want mein bruder."

XXXX

"I can't believe that I beat up by a citizen…no he was more like a ******* giant!" Prussia complained as he followed Gilbird. In the mist of chaos he saw the German Confederation enter a carriage and sent hid pet to follow it. He was out of the city walking on a dirt road in the middle of a forest. "Talk about medieval and cliché." Prussia saw a castle up ahead, complete with a surrounding stone wall, a moat, and a drawbridge. Gilbird circled high above it than landed on Prussia shoulder. "So that is where they are keeping West?" Gilbird responded with a chirp.

Prussia hid in the foliage, studying the layout of the castle. There were plenty of guards by the gate. One or two of them would take a routine stroll on top of the wall.

"West is being held prisoner, what would Old Fritz say in this situation?" Prussia pulled out a book from inside his coat. It had his favorite quotes that Frederick II said to him. He flipped through the pages. "Here is a good one, 'Don't let your personal life get mixed up in war.' Kesesese, Old Fritz what a joker, war is my personal life. What he really means is that I should take care of this situation myself and not send in some soldiers to storm the castle."

Somewhere in heaven, Frederick II is shouting, "That has absolutely nothing to do with what I said. Send your soldiers in. It will save you a great deal of trouble!" Prussia was not dead so he could not hear Frederick II's advice.

"Since the entrance is heavily guarded, I should have better luck climbing the side of the wall." Luckily, Prussia had a grabbling hook on him, which will make his climb easier. He walked up and stopped at the beginning of the moat. "I wonder how deep this is." Prussia stepped into the water and was able to walk right up to the side of the wall. "You call that a security system, the water barely reaches my waist!" Prussia hushed himself and waited for the guard on top of the wall to pass by. When the coast was clear, he tossed the grabbling hook over the wall and pulled on the rope to make sure that it was in place.

"This will be easy." After Prussia said that, he felt something squeeze tightly around his leg. Before he could react, Prussia was pulled under the water. In few seconds, he emerged while wrestling a crocodile. Prussia knocked it in the gut and a run to the rope which he climbed in record time. Once on top of the wall, he sat down, put his hand over his heart, and panted. _What the hell! Crocodiles are not native here! Well, I don't really know that as a fact. _Prussia thought to himself. His clothes were wet and torn in places. _West better be grateful for I have just been through. _He heard the door leading to the tower in front of him open. Prussia swiftly jumped the guard and knocked him out. He decided to change into the guard's clothes to blend in and not cause suspicion.

XXXXX

"Vati, do you really have to go?" The German Confederation was standing next to his 'mother' they bid farewell to his 'father.' There were several servants around wishing to say good bye to their master.

"It is only for a few days, Ludwig. You are twelve years old. You have to be the man of the castle while I am gone." Ludwig's father closed the carriage door and rode out of the court yard.

"Where are you going, Ludwig?" said the boy's mother. The German Confederation was heading back to the castle.

"I'm going to get a drink of water." The boy replied.

"One of the servants can get that for you."

"I don't want to bother them."

"Fine, but don't be late for lunch in the garden. Use the side entrance, I do not want you track dirt in on the recently mopped floor in the main entrance." Ludwig's mother left to go on her afternoon walk.

The German Confederation he remembered who he really was four days after he was in the hospital. By that time, he was very fond of his 'parents,' which was a luxury that nations never got. The boy grew accustomed to being called Ludwig. He did not bother to correct his 'parents' when they called him that. This new life was a lot more peaceful and had less stressful than his past. Being the German Confederation almost seemed like it was all a dream.

A guard approached the German Confederation form behind. The boy did not bother to turn around and look at the guard's face. He was use to having guards follow him around all the time. The German Confederation kept moving forward. The guard him crossed the boy's personal space and was breathing down his neck.

"Wessst" The man hissed, like a snake.

The boy froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. The one man who could destroy his new life was behind him.

"Wessst." Prussia whispered again. "I'm here to rescue you."

Normally the German Confederation would be glad to see Prussia. However, if it were not for the argument they had the last time they saw each other and the fact that Prussia was just being ultra creepy, then things might have turned out in favor for Prussia.

"GUARDS!" The German Confederation shouted, not daring to look behind him.

"What?" Prussia was trying to figure out what was going on. Out of nowhere, a group of men tackled him down before he could react.

XXXXXX

The last place where Prussia would ever want to be was in the throne room being yelled at by the look-alike of Austria's former she-devil boss from the Silesian Wars. The German Confederation was standing right next to that woman. Several of the guards had their rifles pointed at Prussia.

"Are you paying attention? I asked you a question." The woman had her arms crossed. "Why did you approach my son?"

"Your son?" The situation stated to make sense to Prussia. His brother was not being held prisoner, he just found a family to live with. He looked at the German Confederation who dead serious expression on his face. "Listen lady, that boy is mein bruder."

"Ludwig, do you know this man?" The woman asked the German Confederation.

"Nein." He did not even look at the albino.

"West, it's me!" Prussia was worried that the German Confederation lost his memory. "You have to come home."

"Why should I let you decide what is best for me when I don't want to do it." He stared straight into Prussia's crimson eyes.

_ Okay, he remembers und he is still sour about that argument we had, _Prussia thought. "I'm not going to admit that I was wrong when I was clearly right."

"Mutti, he is drunk. I bet you would find a flask on him." The German Confederation used his position to get back at Prussia.

_That little ingrate_! Prussia knew his little brother was taking full advantage of this situation.

"Let's see if your right." The woman told the guards men to search through Prussia. They found six beer bottles on him. Three of which were still full. "Ludwig, what do you think would be a fitting punishment for this intruder?"

"Toss him into the moat und let the crocodiles sort him out."

"Ouch West, that was cold for you to say." Prussia struggled against the guards that had a firm grip on him.

"I wish that I could do that, Ludwig." The woman paced back and forth. "However, I had trouble with the constable after the last person I threw in there. So now I have to issue a warning first. If he does this again, then I can feed him to the crocodiles." She looked at Prussia, "Are you going to comply, or shall I have the guards drag you out?"

"I can walk out myself, but first let me ask you one question." Prussia shoved one of the guards away from him. "How long have you had…Ludwig?"

"He has been with me ever since I gave birth to him." The woman replied. "Guards escort him out."

"Alright, I am leaving." Prussia gave one last glare at the German Confederation, who glared back at him. The guards followed Prussia out of the castle to make sure that he did not do anything stupid. Once off the premises, Prussia already had a plan to convince the German Confederation to come back home.

XXXXXXX

The German Confederation was playing badminton by himself in the back yard. He convinced his 'mother' to let him stay outside when it was starting to get dark. Since he was excelling in his studies, she could not refuse to say no to him. The guards would occasional come by to check up on him. The German Confederation hit the birdie with his racquet so far it landed by a tree. He decided that after retrieving the birdie that he would head inside. As he reached for it, it moved. It was not the birdie, it was an actual bird.

"Gilbird." The German Confederation muttered. "Then that means…" The birdie he was looking for landed on his head. He looked up and saw Prussia in the tree. The German Confederation did feel bad for condemning Prussia earlier, so he did not call for the guards.

"How are you doing West? Or shall I call you Ludwig?" Prussia slid down the tree.

The German Confederation was not going to answer that question. "What do you want? I'm happy now. Why can't you leave me alone?"

Prussia became more serious seeing how stubborn his brother was being. "West, you can't stay with these people. You are needed back home."

"Why not?" The boy did not want to give up his new lifestyle.

"Your 'mutter' how old is she? 35 or 40. Now how old are you?"

The German Confederation could not answer that question. He never really kept track of his age, but he knew that he had to be at least be 50 years old.

"Yeah, that's right you are older than her. In a few years, what is she going to think when she sees that you have not aged?"

"But…" The German Confederation wanted to retaliate, however he found it hard to come up with a good point.

"I did not think that you would give up your dreams of becoming stronger. If you don't come back to your responsibilities, you will stay as you are, a twelve year old in the eyes of men."

"I have parents now, who love me." The boy was trying to think of any good reason to stay.

"West, you have me. Wasn't I ever good enough for you?"

"You wanted me to…"

"Forget about that argument for now. We have plenty of time to discuss that later." Prussia thought that it was now time to reveal his most convincing point. "What about Ludwig? He is probably lost out there somewhere und his parents are not even worried about him, because you are taking his place."

The German Confederation never once thought about the boy that he was replacing. It made him sick to think about how selfish he was.

"Well?" Prussia was waiting for the German Confederation's response.

"Give me some time to think this over."

"The longer you wait, the longer Ludwig is out there with no one looking for him."

The German Confederation bit his lip. Since when did Prussia get to be rational? He had several good points just like when they argued a month ago. The German Confederation had to admit that he was wrong in this current situation, but could not be wrong in their past argument. It was unheard of for Prussia to be right twice in a row.

"I…" The boy looked up at his older brother. Prussia looked scared. He was even shaking a little. The German Confederation heard footsteps behind him and saw one of the guards approaching. This was the biggest guard that they had. He heard stories that this man was related to a giant.

"There is no need to get violent." Prussia voice was shaky. "I am just talking with mein bruder." The guard was unfazed by Prussia plea, and he grabbed the albino with one arm.

"Wait…stop." The German Confederation tried to help his brother. The guard was under orders to toss Prussia in the moat if he ever set foot inside the walls. He did not listen to the boy's command.

Another guard came by to hold the boy back as his brother was dragged out of sight. The German Confederation had never seen this guard before. "You can let go of me. I have to speak to my mutter." He thought that it would be for the best if he told his 'family' the truth.

The guard still kept his grip on the boy and pulled out a white cloth from his pocket. "You have something on your face." The man forced the cloth over the German Confederation's nose and mouth. "Just breathe it in," he whispered. The smell from the chemicals on the cloth burned the boy's nostrils and pulled him into a deep sleep.

XXXXXXXX

"Urgh…beat up by the same guy twice in one day." Prussia emerged from the moat. "This time he embarrassed me in front of my kid bruder." As he walked, Prussia dragged a crocodile that would not let go of his leg. A baby crocodile hung onto Prussia's shoulder with its teeth. He stared back up on top of the wall. The giant guard looked back down on him and then went back to his regular routine. Prussia sighed. He took the baby crocodile off his shoulder and began to shake it violently with one hand and the other was under its mouth. The bigger crocodile tugged at Prussia's leg. "Hey. I will give him back when he gives me what I want!"

Not too far from where Prussia stood, a man was at the side of the wall looking up for someone. A guard appeared on top of the wall and spoke to the man at the bottom.

"Get that bag of yours open, Antonio."

The man at the bottom looked confused, but he did as the other told him to. "Like this?" Antonio held the bag wide open. A second later, a body fell into it. The guard imposter came down a rope ladder.

"What were you thinking, Francis? You could have seriously hurt him!" Antonio scolded Francis quietly.

"He is heavy, just like the other one. I did not want to break my back carrying him down the wall again. And besides," Francis pointed out, "Shouldn't you be more careful. You are practically drowning the boy."

Antonio quickly lifted up the bag out of the water. "Sorry about that." He apologized to the boy in the bag.

"Why do you still have that raw meat around your waist? You were supposed to feed that to the crocodiles."

"It's strange. I have not seen those three reptiles anywhere." Antonio replied. As soon as they walked out of the water, he tossed the raw meat into the moat. "We better tie his mouth shut in case he wakes up." Antonio opened the bag and tied the boy's limbs with rope. Francis stuffed a thick cloth in the German Confederation's mouth and tied another cloth around his mouth. When then were done, they put the boy back in the bag and tied it around the saddle on one of their horses. They did not notice anyone else nearby.

Prussia was infuriated by what he saw. Those two people looked just like France and Spain. He knew it was not them because France would never wear those clothes and the Spanish person had a scar running across his forehead diagonally down to his opposite cheek. Prussia would have marched right over them and beat the living daylights out of those two, if he was not already busy trying to save someone else.

"Spit him out now!" Prussia squeezed the little crocodile. He put a lot of pressure on the reptile's belly. A yellow bird rolled out of the crocodile's mouth and into Prussia's hand. "You're alright." He tossed the baby crocodile aside and cradled Gilbird in his hands. The larger crocodile let go of Prussia's leg and left to find the smaller crocodile.

The sound of hoof prints galloping away brought Prussia back to his senses. "West!" He ran forward, but fell down. A third crocodile much larger than the last one had Prussia's legs in its jaw.

"Can you still fly?" Prussia asked Gilbird. His pet flew up around his head. "I knew that nothing could stop you. Now follow." Prussia pointed to the horse that that taking his brother away. Gilbird flew up high and pursued the horse.

The crocodile began to drag Prussia into the water.

"I'll teach you what happens when you get in between me and West!"

XXXXXXXXX

Antonio held the German Confederation against his chest. The boy's arms were draped around the Spanish man's neck. His head rested on Antonio's shoulder.

Francis was leading the way down the corridor. He stopped by a door and hung his torch. "Which key was it?" France took out a large ring from his pocket. It had many keys on it.

"It kind feels like he is hugging me." Antonio was happy to get affection from a child. "If he is not the real Ludwig, can I keep him?"

"That would be too much of a hassle. After we trade Ludwig for the ransom, we will just sell the extra into slavery." Francis was testing out a few keys into the lock.

"He is actually hugging my neck a little too tight now." Antonio turned his head to see the boy's face. He was startled as two blue eyes looked at him with rage. The grip around Antonio's neck tightened. "Ah he's awake! He is…..choking…me!" Antonio tried to pull the boy off, but the German was too stubborn to let go. He was starting to feel dizzy.

Francis dropped the keys and went over to help his partner. "Let go of him you little brat!" He pulled the boy by his hair. The German Confederation's grip-of-death was still strong. Francis put a cloth in the boy's face; however he stopped breathing so that trick would not work again. It was now a test between Antonio and the German Confederation to see who will cave in first without air.

A third person calmly walked over to the struggle. He picked up the keys with his free hand. There was a weapon I his other hand. He went up to the boy and struck him repeatedly with a lead pipe. The German Confederation lost his grip and was immediately pulled away from Antonio.

"I believe that this is the key that you are looking for." The man gave the correct key to Francis.

"Gracias, Ivan." Antonio got back up. "I owe you one."

"No need, comrade." Ivan watched delightfully as the boy try to crawl away with his limbs tied up. "You won't be getting very far." He grabbed the German Confederation by his legs and dragged him through the door, which Francis had just opened. Ivan tossed the boy into a wire cage and sealed it shut. "I don't like tricks to be played on me, so I will only ask you this once. Who is the real Ludwig?"

"I already told you I am Ludwig," said a voice surprisingly similar to the German Confederation's. It came from the back corner of the cage.

"He could be lying." Francis whispered to Ivan.

"Why don't you tell us your name?" Antonio asked the German Confederation. The boy glared at him. "Oh that's right, we tied your mouth shut. Ludwig, be a dear and untie your look-alike."

Two cold hands began undoing the knots that bound the German Confederation. Once freed from the rope, the boys got a good look at each other. To the German Confederation, Ludwig looked nothing like him when in fact Ludwig was a perfect replica of himself.

"Who are you?" Ivan asked. The boy said nothing in response. "You will learn very soon that I am not the patient type of person. Francis, do you have that sword with you? I need it."

"I always carry it with me." Francis gave the sword to Ivan.

The German Confederation did not see it coming and neither did Ludwig. As soon as Ivan had the sword in his hands, he quickly put the weapon though one of the square spaces of the cage and cut the side of the German Confederation's and Ludwig's faces. It was not deep, but it still stung. Ivan pulled the sword back and gave it to Francis.

"You got it dirty now." Francis complained.

"Don't worry. It was a small price to pay in order to teach the new guy a lesson." Ivan turned his attention back to the boys. "Every time you disobey, I will hurt both of you. Now answer my question. Who are you and what is your relationship with Ludwig or his family?"

The German Confederation gritted his teeth. He had to be careful because he could get Ludwig seriously hurt for his own insolence. "I am the German Confederation. I have no relationship with Ludwig or his family. I just wanted to see what it was like to have parents. That why I took Ludwig's place. You better set me free or I will wage war on you!"

The three men laughed loudly. The boy's story sounded ridiculous.

"Now really, tell us who you are." Antonio had to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.

"I just did, I am the German Confederation und I am at least fifty years old." The boy's face was turning red with embarrassment as he was being laughed at.

"Okay. I am starting to put this story together." Francis rubbed his chin. "We have the real Ludwig here and a delusional orphan imposter a pauper."

The three men left the room, locking the door behind them. A small candle on the table outside of the cage provided some light for the boys.

"There are only those three und no one else, right?" The German Confederation asked Ludwig.

"Ja." Ludwig squinted at the German Confederation, studying him. "I don't understand it. You look nothing like me."

"I agree." Both boys were in denial about their identical appearance.

"What are you trying to do?" Ludwig saw the other boy crouch down on the side of the cage.

"Escape. Have you tried doing that?"

"Ja. Have you not noticed the bruises I have?" Ludwig pointed to several on his face and arms. "That tall guy, Ivan. With those creepy violet eyes, he keeps getting me every time that I try to escape. He set traps all over this place. I don't know why but he is always one step ahead me. You should just give up, before you get hurt even more."

"There are two of us now. Maybe you just need someone to help you escape." The German Confederation was pulling and even biting ate the wire until it broke. "See that's one down. I need to cut through a few more to make a sizeable hole to slide under." Ludwig smiled as if he had not done so in weeks.

"Are you really the German Confederation?"

"Ja."

"How do you exist?"

"I don't really know. There is always someone for every country."

They heard footsteps coming towards the door. The German Confederation quickly hid the broken wires under some straw. Ivan came into the room, holding a plate and a cup. He slid those items into the cage. "Eat up. I only brought one meal, because I never expected to have a child spoil my original plan and make me wait another month to try to get the ransom. You better not think of escaping." Ivan left the room.

"Here." Ludwig handed the other boy the bread and water.

"Nein. We both need all of our strength to get out of here." He broke the bread in half. "We share." They both took turns sipping the water.

When the German Confederation finished tearing the wire, both boys crawled out of the cage.

"He did not lock the door." The German Confederation pointed out.

"There is a reason that he did not. There is always a reason behind everything he does." Ludwig looked very scared. "He is most likely hiding right behind the door, waiting for an excuse to hurt someone."

"It's the only way out. If it is just him out there, we can both try to take him down."

Ludwig nodded in agreement. They both opened the door slowly expecting to see someone behind it. There was no one.

"Maybe he forgot to lock the door." The German Confederation said. Ludwig was unconvinced. He started to shake.

"Which way should we go?" The German Confederation looked at both ends of the dark hallway. He chose one side and walked forward. Ludwig pulled him back and pointed to the wooden floor in front of him. The German Confederation's eyes adjusted to a crack on the floor.

"Traps." Ludwig whispered. He grabbed the other boy's wrist and led the way. There were many things that the German Confederation did not believe was a trap, such as a piece of string on the ground or even nothing. Ludwig managed to avoid each seemly harmless obstacle because he had been through them before. They both made it to the top of the staircase, where they spied on their captors below.

"You better hurry up and finish writing that ransom note, Francis." Antonio was sharpening his axe. "I don't want another boy to appear before we give it out."

"I can't believe his parents thought that lunatic was their child." Francis sipped on some wine and went back to writing.

"You know," Ivan was leaning against the wall. "I did hear a story about countries having their own personifications."

"What are they supposed to be like?" Antonio got curious.

"They look like humans, but live as long as their nation thrives."

"I wonder if the kid was telling the truth," Francis murmured.

"The German Confederation is comprised of several states. It's not really a country, but that might explain why he looks like a kid." Antonio pondered. "If he really is the German Confederation, then we can hold him for ransom against the government."

"Or better yet," Francis had a different idea. "We could sell him to a foreign country like France, Spain, or Russia. They would pay heavenly for him, so they would not have to go to war to conquer the German Confederation." This got the three men excited. "How do we tell if he really is the German Confederation?"

"The tale did say that the personifications could heal faster than normal humans." Ivan's eyes flickered. "We can break both of the kids' arms and compare the healing process."

"Looks like we will have to hold off with this ransom." Francis stopped writing the note and walked towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" Antonio asked.

"I left my hair brush in the saddle bag. I will be right back." Francis exited the building. Ivan walked into a different room and Antonio continued sharpening his axe.

The boys felt that now was a good time to sneak down stairs. They did it in absolute silence as to not disturb Antonio. Once on the bottom, they hid behind the wooden staircase and found a plank. The German Confederation snuck up behind Antonio and grabbed his mouth shut in between his arms. A second later, Ludwig smashed the plank on Antonio's head to knock him out.

The exit was in front of them, with no one to stop them. Ludwig ran to the door first. He never reached this far. There was a thud behind him. Ludwig turned around to see that the German Confederation fell on the ground. He glanced at the door, then went back to help his friend. The German Confederation was out cold. Ludwig did not understand what happened. The other boy was fine just a minute ago. He heard footsteps. Ivan was coming back into the room. Ludwig grabbed the German Confederation's arm and pulled him towards the door. Antonio was beginning to awaken. The Spaniard moaned and held onto the German Confederation's leg. That is when Ludwig felt it; extreme dizziness. He collapsed next to the German Confederation. The last thing that Ludwig saw was Ivan's smirk when he came into the room.

"You…you…drugged the bread und water." After Ludwig's said that, his mind slipped away into his subconscious.

XXXXXXXXXX

Prussia surveyed the old mill. He had several scratches on him from his fight with 'godzilla.' After Gilbird led him here, he sent his pet on another errand. Prussia determined there were only three captors, judging by the number of horses tied to the tree near the side of the building. He saw a person head over to where the horses were. It was the man that looked like France. Prussia licked his lips. He was going to enjoy this.

Poor Francis did not see him coming. Prussia jumped out the woods and kneed Francis on the back onto the ground. He drew his sword out of his sheath, but Prussia grabbed it out of his hands and punched him several times.

"Not in the face! Not in the face!" Francis pleaded.

"What are you doing to mein Bruder?" Prussia growled. He grabbed Francis by his shirt collar and slammed him against a tree.

"Brother? We don't have your brother." Francis recollected that Ludwig was an only child.

"You know who I am talking about." Prussia put his hand around Francis's neck and choked him a little.

Francis was trying to process what was happening. He found an answer. "You mean the German Confederation?"

"Ja!" Prussia had his fist out ready to punch Francis.

"He was telling the truth about himself?" Francis could not believe it. "If you are his brother than that means…"

"You are facing the wrath of the Kingdom of Prussia!"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Francis begged. "We just wanted to make money by holding him for ransom." Prussia hit Francis so hard on the head, he knock him out.

"He better not be hurt," Prussia tied Francis's body to the tree, "or else I will rip out your voice box so that you will never be able to beg for your pathetic life again."

Prussia took Francis's sword and to the door. He pushed it open a little to see what was going on inside. His brother was unconscious on the table. Antonio held down the boy's arm, while another man raised the blunt end of an axe. He was just about to strike the boy, when Prussia kicked the door wide open.

Antonio took his axe from Ivan, but was not fast enough to block Prussia's attack. He slashed at Antonio's face with the sword, giving him another scar so that in the future it would look like a giant X across his face. Antonio stumbled backwards, knocking the table over along with the boy's body.

Prussia stood on top of Antonio, who gasped. Prussia's focus was on Ivan now. The man looked like Russia, but had black hair instead of a pale blond. Ivan grabbed another boy that had the same exact appearance of the German Confederation. He held a knife to the boy's throat.

"I suggest you drop the sword or the little one gets it." Ivan was threatening to kill the boy.

Prussia's eyes narrowed. He was not going to let someone tell him what to do. "Fine, I will drop it." Instead of doing so, he tossed the blade at Ivan so it aimed at Ivan's neck.

The Russian saw the sword coming at him and stepped aside to dodge it. However, he forgot that the other boy was on the floor and he tripped over the boy's body. Prussia used this moment to kick the knife out of Ivan's hand. He pinned the Russian on the floor, grabbed his hair, and bashed his head repeatedly against the wall until Ivan was no longer conscious.

Prussia tied the two kidnappers against a beam that support the building. He moved his brother's look-alike to a comfortable position. Then he held his brother. "You did well, West. Even though you were unconscious, you were still useful in bringing down that Russian." Prussia walked over to the back exit.

Hoof prints were heard outside with some people shouting. Antonio, who was barley awake asked, "Who is out there?"

"That would be the constable." Prussia left carrying his brother. Once outside, a yellow bird landed on his head. "You have had a long day. You need a well deserved break."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"See, now that's how the awesome me saves the day." Prussia had just finished explaining the story to Austria. They were at Prussia's house. Austria was sitting on the sofa drinking tea. Prussia came home two hours ago, holding the blond haired boy.

"So how did you know?" Austria asked.

"Know what?"

"Which one was the German Confederation?"

Now that Prussia thought about it both of the boys were wearing the same clothes. "Just by instinct, I guess."

"You mean, you don't really know!" There was tension in Austria's voice. A crashing sound from the German Confederation's bed room made the two nations run upstairs. Austria got to the door first and opened it.

"I am nobody's slave!" Ludwig shouted. He kneed Austria in his vital regions.

"PRUSSIA!" Austria yelled.

"Kesesese. I like where he went."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The German Confederation heard the window shatter. He was in Ludwig's bed room and the noise just woke him up from his drug induced slumber. The walls were made of stone, so that it was sound proof to everywhere else in the castle. The German Confederation took out a rifle from behind his pillow. He stole the gun from one of the guards a few days ago. There was a grabbling hook on the edge of his window sill. The German Confederation pointed the rifle at the window. A figure came inside and rolled on the floor. The German Confederation grabbed the candle from his bedside table and walked closer to the person. He dropped the weapon, because it was Prussia with Ludwig holding onto his back.

"Sorry about the mix up, West." Prussia stood up.

"You moron, you could have used the front entrance. Why do you have to scare me, by sneaking in?" The German Confederation was not too pleased with Prussia's approach.

"It not my fault I had to come in this way. I didn't exactly make friends with the guards."

Ludwig let go of Prussia and talked to the German Confederation. "I can't believe that you wanted to stay with my parents over your bruder. On the way here, he told me how he rescued us. I wish I had an older bruder."

"He saved us?" The German Confederation was in disbelief.

"Ja, but you are right. He is a moron, because he took me to your house thinking that I was you." Ludwig sat on his bed.

Prussia gaped at them. Not only were their appearance exact, but their personalities were almost similar. "Who couldn't mistaken you two for each other you are like clones."

"We look nothing alike!" Both boys yelled at the same time.

"Alright, just say goodbye before a guard shows up." Prussia cautiously looked outside the window.

"Here." The German Confederation gave Ludwig the rifle. "Keep it under your pillow. You never know when you will need it."

Ludwig looked around his room. "I don't have anything to give you."

"The time I spent here was good enough."

"Ready to go now?" Prussia asked. The German Confederation nodded. "You will have to hold on to my back. It is a long way down."

The German Confederation did not want Prussia to do everything for him. "I don't want to..." He stopped himself. This reminded him of that argument they had. Prussia was right the whole time. The German Confederation had to except that fact. "Ja, bruder." He climbed onto Prussia's back.

"See ya." Prussia said to Ludwig as he made his decent.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So you are finally back." Austria said to the German Confederation as came in through the door with Prussia. "I would like to speak with you."

"Bring it down." Prussia said to the German Confederation. The boy ignored Austria's request and went upstairs.

"What has gotten in to him? He did not even question your orders." Austria put down his cup of tea.

Prussia sat down across from Austria. "He realized that I was right."

"About what?"

"The argument that made him leave a few weeks ago."

"I have been meaning to ask. What were you two fighting about?"

"You would never take my side in this argument." Prussia rolled his eyes. "West thought that I was being counterproductive, but I believe that we should take a risk."

"What is this all about?" Austria was irritated that he did not get a straight answer.

The German Confederation came into the room and handed Prussia some papers. His bangs were slicked back

"What did you do to your hair?" Prussia asked.

"I don't want people confusing me for someone else."

"Okay." Prussia brought his attention back to the papers. "Did you sign them?"

"Ja."

"Gut gut gut gut." Prussia rubbed his hands together. "Now go to bed."

Austria interrupted. "Nein, stay down here. I have to talk to you about who is going to be your caretaker." The boy continued to leave the room. "The German Confederation, I am talking to you!"

"It's North." The confederation left the room without even looking at Austria.

"What does he mean by that?" Austria demanded answers from Prussia. "I swear. You are not a good influence on him." He saw that Prussia was staring at him with a weird smile on his face. "What do those papers say?"

"Read it yourself, Specs." Prussia handed the papers to Austria.

Austria read the pages and became enraged. "The formation of the North German Confederation! Excludes Austria!" He pounded his fist on the table.

"He needs a shorter name." Prussia said to irritate Austria even more. "I told you that you would never take my side in the argument that I had with West." Prussia snickered. "You want to go to war?"

"Ja. I want this foolishness to stop at once!" Austria got up and was about to leave, when Prussia annoyed him even more.

"Let me tell you something, I have some surprising allies already. Well, one that you would never expect anyway."

"Who is that?"

"You will find out on the battlefield." Prussia turned away from Austria. "You better leave before I call the cops."


End file.
